encephalo-

prefix

Pertaining to the brain.

“Holonym: cephalo-”

OriginAncient Greek ἐγκέφᾰλος (enképhălos) ← Proto-Hellenic *kʰepʰəlā́ ← Proto-Indo-European *gʰébʰōl →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

prefix

alternative encephal-

  1. Pertaining to the brain.

    Holonym: cephalo-

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Ancient Greekἐν (en)
  3. Ancient Greekἐν- (en-)
  4. Proto-Indo-European*gʰebʰ-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*gʰébʰōl
  6. Proto-Hellenic*kʰepʰəlā́
  7. Ancient Greekκεφᾰλή (kephălḗ)
  8. Ancient Greekἐγκέφᾰλος (enképhălos)
  9. Englishencephalo-

From en- + cephalo-. From Ancient Greek ἐγκέφαλος (enképhalos, “brain”) (within the head), from ἐν (en, “in”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish enkefalo-, aivo-
  • enkefalo-pertaining to the brain
  • aivo-pertaining to the brain
French encéphalo-
  • encéphalo-pertaining to the brain
Polish encefalo-
  • encefalo-pertaining to the brain
Spanish encefalo-
  • encefalo-pertaining to the brain
Cite this entry
APA

encephalo-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encephalo-

MLA

“encephalo-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encephalo-. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “encephalo-,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encephalo-.

Source: encephalo- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.